1. What makes Marie Mercadier accept Michael Flynn’s proposal?
2. Are there common threads in the ways that the main characters have been changed by the war, or do they change in different ways?
3. When Kathleen Mercadier leaves the community, she tells Marie to keep looking ahead, saying, “Take what life gives you, but do not try to hold on to it.” Do you see merit in her philosophy?
4. Was Turner right in trying to withhold the details about Colonel Carr’s death from Charlotte?
5. As he wrestles with his divided loyalties, Charley Pettibone sometimes wonders if he should have returned to Daybreak after the war. What do you think?
6. Learn about the “Drake Constitution” of Missouri, which was in effect from 1865 until 1875. How do you see that constitution influencing the actions of the characters in the novel?